Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to interior and exterior finish wall veneer applications for use in the construction of buildings and building components, i.e., pre-fabricated wall systems. More particularly, the present invention concerns manufactured panels comprised of determined dimensions composed of a wide range of materials, including real brick veneer, rocks or stones, shale, limestone or composites of these materials, all being referred to as masonry materials. Typically the pre-manufactured wall panels are composed of materials having similar size and texture so that the finished wall panels will have the appearance of a conventional masonry wall when the installation is complete. These veneer or composite materials are embedded in or bonded with a moisture impervious substrate composed of a suitable polymer foam material such as poly-urethane mixture, for example, together with a premixed mortar that has the ornamental appearance of having been applied in the conventional manner. When the pre-manufactured wall panels employ thin brick members the bricks and mortar are arranged to replicate a finished brick or composite brick veneer wall structure. The pre-manufactured wall panels are designed to be applied to a building framework to collectively serve as a thermal insulating and moisture-proof wall structure and serve efficiently for the development of a finished wall structure for a building. The present invention also concerns a novel automated manufacturing process for the manufacture of the composite masonry wall panels of this panels of this invention.